Preceded by A COMEDY IN SIX UNNATURAL ACTS (1975, dir. Jan Oxenberg / USA, 26 min. In English / 4K restoration by IndieCollect)
“THE WATERMELON WOMAN gives us something we don't see much of in film -- young black women claiming their space and sharing it with the rest of us.” - Rosalind Bentley, Minneapolis Star Tribune
“In creating a rich, complex film about the processes of filmmaking and the intersections of identity, Dunye's THE WATERMELON WOMAN gets at the risk and reward involved in creating one's own history, which so often melds truth with fiction.” - Alyx Vesey, Bitch Media
August 2 & 6 | With her first feature, writer-director-punk archivist-actor Dunye portrays “Cheryl,” a 20-something video store employee with big dreams to open her own production company, who is in a complicated courtship with the politically tone-deaf Diana. Preserved by the UCLA Film & Television Archive with funding provided by 13th Gen, Outfest, The Andrew J. Kuehn Jr. Foundation, TIFF, First Run Features & Yves Averous.
Preceded by A COMEDY IN SIX UNNATURAL ACTS (1975, dir. Jan Oxenberg / USA, 26 min. In English / new 4K restoration by IndieCollect with funding provided by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Hollywood Foreign Press Association, Jane Fonda Fund for Women Directors, and IndieCollect Donors Circle), a series of B&W vignettes which interpret six six stereotypes of lesbians as a series of standalone sketches worthy of a queerer, more experimental Saturday Night Live.
Pioneers of Queer Cinema Series: In partnership with the UCLA Film & Television Archive, the Gene Siskel Film Center presents differing, often radical explorations of sexual orientation and gender identity. Pioneers of Queer Cinema introduces and reacquaints audiences with landmark queer works and their makers, while inspiring new conversations and renewed action surrounding the complex obstacles LGBTQ+ communities continue to face. View full series here.
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